At first glance - an idyll. The river sparkles in the sun, the banks are calm in the greenery. However, if the smell of this postcard could reach your screens - you would change the channel without a second thought. Unbearable fumes and alarming pollution of the river ecosystem have been tormenting the residents of Spuž for years. Their houses are located right next to the Zeta River - and the industrial complex of the slaughterhouse "Primato".
"Sometimes you can see it here, when we get sick and there's blood, especially young people when they go swimming in the summer, to enjoy themselves, they complain. + What's worst is the smell here, even our children can't sleep, the smell is horrible at night. Now during the day we can probably tolerate it somehow, and it's not so loud, but God forbid at night our three-year-old, my grandson, keeps shouting 'Grandma, I can't sleep because this stinks,'" says Mileva Jovanović, a resident of Spuž.
The slaughterhouse has a wastewater treatment system, but locals, a murky river and an unbearable stench testify that it is not working. Why? We have not received an answer from the company "Primato". Instead of repairing the purifier, we are told that they plan to expand the industrial plant and almost double the amount of wastewater, from 50 to 80 thousand liters per day. And all this, according to the documentation, with the existing non-functional device.
"This is not about pollution, it is literally about killing the aquatic river ecosystem. We have monthly inspection reports that the water is polluted, but investors continue to work. Although the law says that if the violation is repeated, it should be closed, and that is why this is one of the biggest problems, not only of Spuži, but also of Danilovgrad and Montenegro," explains Vuk Iković, Preokret councilor and ecologist.
The procedure for obtaining permits for the expansion is underway, which is why representatives of the Spuž Local Community have asked the Environmental Protection Agency to join the commission that decides on, as they say, an undeserved environmental permit.
"According to the meeting itself, these things, so to speak, and these elements were presented to the interested public and how they can take an active part in the case itself and in the decision-making process," points out Milan Vlahović from the Environmental Protection Agency.
For the locals of Spuž and environmentalists, however, after years of dealing with what they say is poisoning from slaughterhouse waste, being part of the permitting committee is not enough in itself.
"For years, wastewater has been discharged, sometimes it is purified, sometimes it is not. And for the last six months we have had constant pollution. The proof of this is the report confirming that the water is unusable for drinking and bathing. The locals are rightfully demanding the closure of the farm and slaughterhouse because they have given investors and institutions a first, third, tenth chance to solve this. They are welcome here on condition that they respect the law, but they are not welcome if they cause harm to citizens and if they cause harm to the nature from which citizens live," says Iković.
While waiting for the announced expansion of the slaughterhouse, local residents' trust in institutions is decreasing. If the authorities do not solve the problem, they say they will solve it themselves - through protests and blockades.
Bonus video:
